Paul McKee Jr. is spearheading an effort to make St. Louis the Midwest cargo hub for Chinese airlines, according to sources close to the initiative.



Civic leaders including McKee, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley and Regional Chamber & Growth Association President and Chief Executive Dick Fleming are planning a trip to China in late March in an effort to land international cargo at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.



This trip follows a two-day visit to St. Louis by China's ambassador to the United States, Zhou Wenzhong. McKee, Slay, Dooley and Fleming all attended a luncheon at the Danforth Plant Science Center Wednesday with civic leaders, including Senators Claire McCaskill and Christoper Bond. Also in attendance were McKee's sons, Chris and Joe McKee, and Steve Stone, the McKees' real estate attorney and a member of local law firm Stone, Leyton & Gershman. Stone is credited for playing a major role in orchestrating the St. Louis/China connection. McKee Jr. is credited with bringing the ambassador to town.



Bringing Asian air cargo to St. Louis could be a boon for both the airport and surrounding businesses. International air freight demand is forecasted to increase by about 5 percent annually between now and 2011, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Airlines in the Asia-Pacific region are leading this growth. International air freight exported to and from Asia accounts for about 45 percent of total international freight and will account for more than 55 percent of new traffic by 2011, according to the IATA.



Routing some of this traffic to Lambert makes sense for Paul McKee Jr., who is chairman and chief executive of local development firm McEagle. McEagle is partnering with Clayco Realty Group to redevelop the 550 acres located along the eastern perimeter of Lambert. Plans for the $500 million development, known as NorthPark, include 5.5 million square feet of office, manufacturing and distribution facilities and retail.



Officials across the Mississippi in St. Clair County also have their sights set on the international cargo market. A delegation from MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah visited Hong Kong, Shinzen and Shanghai in January in an effort to make MidAmerica a stopping point for cargo flying from Asia to South America. The airport is in "advanced talks with freight forwarders" in Asia, according to Mark Kern, St. Clair County board chairman.



"We're in the process of building relationships and putting together routes and assembling enough cargo to make routes happen," Kern said. "Our goal is to put MidAmerica in the middle and create the hub between China and South America."



Kern declined to identify any specific entities that MidAmerica was meeting with but said the airport anticipates making "some significant announcements" regarding international cargo in the coming year.

bsever wrote:I don't see the connection between the two.

bsever wrote:I don't see the connection between the two.

JCity wrote:Hey, I'd be all for it even if they paid ZERO taxes/fees for use of Lambert. ANYTHING to make this F ing happen should be the policy stance. [-o<

goat314 wrote:I would let the Chinese takeover MidAmerica and run all international operations in the US from St. Louis. I mean this is extreme, but I can dream that our leaders our uber-progressive. But I wouldnt mind having a strong Chinese Influence in America. Look at what they did with Vancouver!!!!

I don't think I understand the scope of the economic boom this could bring to the area. Anyone care to explain?

phoaddict wrote:Them commie spies, let's get em!



This post boils my blood as it illustrates a completely ignorant approach Americans take to any foreign policy related issue (assuming you're being serious).



Do me a favor jrblues, go visit china and live in shanghai, hong kong or beijing for a while. Get some cultural perspective and start making some intelligent posts. China is not aggressive, WE are aggressive. If anything the "spies" are no different than foreign students studying in the US to learn from our ways. But i'll admit there is a small espionage exchange going on between the two countries but extremely romanticized by the media.

http://tinyurl.com/37nwwp wrote:Brenner, who directs the United States' counterspy efforts in the office of the director of national intelligence, says China's technology thieving is "the norm" among industrial nations. But if China is not unique, it does stand out — along with Russia, Cuba and Iran — as among the most active nations, Brenner says.



Beijing's goals aren't limited to traditional national security interests. The world's fastest-growing economy operates a shadowy technology bazaar where individuals offering trade secrets find a ready buyer. About one-third of all economic espionage investigations are linked to Chinese government agencies, research institutes or businesses, according to Bruce Carlson of the FBI's counterintelligence division, who leads the bureau's efforts to combat Chinese spying. Since 2001, the number of FBI investigations of suspected Chinese economic espionage cases increased 12%. "The basis for the whole program is money. People (in the USA) are looking to make a buck. China has money to spend," says Carlson.